True Beginning
by Feathersprite305
Summary: TFA animated verse. The REAL story behind how Optimus met his team, and how Bee and Bulk became part of the team. Might do a sequel behind Ratchet and Bee, the prankster's palet. Read and Review!


I do not own Transformers animated. Just my plots.

Warnings: Sentinel bashing, mentions of slash, etc.

Story...BEGIN!

Optimus shook his head as he walked along the jagged edges of the asteroid they were on. They included he himself, a red and white bot named Ratchet, and a black and gold bot named Prowl. Ratchet was a medic bot, who had served in the war. Prowl was somewhat of a spy bot, and kept to himself. Optimus was a grand blue and red scheme. He was an autobot academy droppout. He glanced over again the terrain again. Ultra Magnus and Sentinel prime were standing a few feet away. Blue optics narrowed at the sight. Sentinel, the glitch, had ruined his chances of being in the elite guard, and instead he was assigned to space bridge repair crew.

Not that it mattered, he wouldn't want to be stuck in the same room with Sentinel, let alone the same rank.

So, he glanced around again as the two bots approached the group of three, Sentinel gleaming with joy.

"Optimus, I can't seem to find the other two repair bots that were assigned to your group." Ultra Magnus told him. "I don't know where they are exactly, but they are still working on the space bridge here, I'm sure." Prowl sighed, bots who didn't show up for work were usually trouble. Ratchet shook his fist.

"Well, I'll take a guess, and say you want us to go find them." The grand leader nodded, as a loud roar covered the area.

_GGGGGUUAAAAARRRRRRNNN!_

"What in the pit is that?!" Sentinel shouted as he covered his audio receptors. The other bots had done the same. A large green mech was running towards them as the sound finally faded.

"HELP! HELP, PLEASE!!!" He shouted, waving a bulky arm in the air. Ultra Magnus started.

"That's one of the repair bots! Soldier, where have you been?" He reprimanded the bot as he caught up to them, gulping as much oxygen as his intakes needed.

"My-My friend, 'e's...stuck, under the rubble, 'e doesn't have a lot of time!" He gasped. Optimus nodded, and they transformed and sped off towards the ruins of the bridge. The green mech motioned to a pile of rubble, where a limp yellow figure could be seen peering out of a hole the other mech had made.

"If I try to move anymore, it'll collaspe! You gotta help!" They nodded, and began removing the rubble carefully, until a slab was all that was left. The mech, Bulkhead, lifted up the stone to reveal a delicate, femme looking bot. Prowl fet his spark jump as the figure moaned, fighting to stay online. Bulkhead scooped up the femme, cradling her gently.

"Hey, hey Bee. Your ok, we gotcha." He cooed. Bee, as her name was dubbed, moaned shaking her head. She opened an optic, the most brilliant and beautiful blue they'd ever seen, and rasped in a quiet voice.

"Bulky, I can't move my right leg." The limb in question was sparking slightly. Ratchet growled, the damage was enough to scar her. He growled again.

"If we can find a tent where I can work, I might be able to patch her up." Bulkhead nodded, and led them to the camp where they lived. He set Bee down on a table as Ratchet began to work. He carefully brushed the horns on top her helm, and began tightening the wires in her systems. He tried to get her to talk.

"How long were you two here?" No answer.

"Why didn't you come on time?" Silence.

He opened up a comm. link.

_:I'm going to keep asking you until you answer, youngling.:_ The answer was a growl.

:_You are very nosy, you realize?:_ Ratchet chuckled.

:_Maybe, but it's to keep you online. By the way, my comrades seem to think you're a femme.:_ He could feel the shock ebb through the link, and he chuckled harder.

:_What?! But I'm not! I'm Bumblebee, by the way.:_ The tone had taken on a soft feeling, gently and comforting, yet, suprisingly child-like. Ratchet smiled as he finished up with his leg.

"There you go, good as new. Just keep off it till it can format to your systems again." Bumblebee nodded, and tenderly stretched his leg. Bulkhead peered into the tent, and seeing that his was ok, rushed in, scooped him up, and rocked the yellow mech back and forth wildly. Optimus, Prowl, Magnus, and Sentinel walked in.

"Good to see you're alive. Ratchet always was a miracle worker." Optimus said slyly, Ratchet's faceplate heating up slightly. Bulkhead had quickly corrected them in the assumption that his friend was femme. Prowl watched the yellow mech smile, feeling his spark tug again. Sentinel stepped up to the pair.

"Alright, now that you're fixed, get back to work." Ratchet glared at him.

"He needs at least three vorns off that leg until he's ready to walk." Sentinel replied with the air of superiorty that the bots found disgusting.

"It was their fault the bridge came down, they have to clean it up." Magnus was quiet. Bulkhead growled as the blue and orange bot roughly yanked Bumblebee from his arms. The frightened mech let out a wail as his leg hit the ground. Prowl flinched, running his servo on his shuriken. But what happened next would be burned into their memory banks eternally. The yellow mech glared at Sentinel, and shook violently. A visible golden energy field appeared aroung his body, and Sentinel was pushed back by the intense electrical current. Bumblebee glared at him, pulling out his stingers. He was leaning on his left leg, his right sprawled out to the side. He growled, a feral sound they had never heard before. Bulkhead stepped up to him.

"Bee, calm down. 'Member what happened last time." The gentle tone was soothing to Bumblebee, as he put down his stingers, Bulkhead picked him up. Prowl relaxed, the outcome was not what he expected at all. Magnus helped Sentinel to his feet.

"Optimus, now that you've met the two bots I told you about, I give the three vorns Ratchet said for you all to get aquainted." He and Sentinel left, leaving the five bots to stare at each other. Bumblebee whispered something in Bulkhead's audio, and they walked, or rather Bulkhead carried him, out of the tent.

Bumblebee yawned as he melded another stone back into place. Bulkhead slapped more concrete and metal together and whapped it into place over the rock. They had been up for at least fifteen breems, and showed no signs of stopping. Prowl, Ratchet, and Optimus were not humored in the least bit.

"I told you, yer leg needs at least two more vorns before it's well enough." Ratchet growled. They paid him no heed, and continued on with their work. Ratchet huffed, and wrenched the hot iron pump from the yellow mech's hand. Only to have him howl in pain. The flame had caught his hand, searing a hot tear over the middle section.

"Primus, why'd they assign you here again?!" Bumblebee glared at the medic. He limped over to Bulkhead, and tucked himself into the shoulder guard, hiding away from the other mechs. Ratchet felt a spark of concern, no bot he had ever met was this withdrawn from others. Bulkhead sighed.

"Sorry 'bout that. Bee just doesn't like other bots. Not since- uhn!" Bumblebee had his stinger drawn out, apparently having zapped the large green mech. The soft blue eyes winced at the look the other was giving him, and turned back to mixing the concrete. Bumblebee growled when Ratchet tried to get closer, and Optimus didn't dare raise the energy field attack the yellow bot had done to Sentinel the other day. Prowl's stealthy ability, however, gave him the perfect oppertunity to converss with the other.

:_I sense you have a secret. Care to enlighten me?_: The response was a high-pitched whine thrown at him.

:_Temper-tantrums never get you anywhere. Just talk._: Bumblebee flicked his optics off.

:_Look, frag off. It doesn't concern you._: Prowl growled, but not in anger. The sound made Bumblebee shiver.

:_Ok, look. Something happened when we got sent here, and I won't talk because it's a sensitive subject_: Prowl nodded. He gently nudged the bot until he slipped from the guard of Bulkhead. The green mech gently patted the yellow mech on the top of his helm, smiling as Bee purred. Prowl smiled slightly.

"Now, please tell us what exactly happened." The two glanced at each other, and after four clicks, nodded.

Bumblebee's P.O.V:

[It was just after we had been released from boot camp. We had been assigned to fix our first space bridge, and I wasn't too happy about that. I thought over and over about what made me jump out like I did, but it always came back to the same answer: Bulkhead was the only friend I had, and I wasn't gonna lose him. When we started work, though, I realized it would plenty hard getting anywhere. But, something happened...]

"OY, workers! Take a load off yer servos, 'n come join us!" The boss of the energon plant nearby had, as always, gotten over-charged, as well as his workers. I don't blame him for what happened, nor does Bulkhead, but it definitely changed us.

"We have to keep working Bee. Otherwise, we'll get in trouble." Bulkhead whispered, always the voice of reason. I nodded, and turned back to the torn console. The wires were pretty messed up, and I doubted that there was any chance of saving them. A moment after Bulkhead had started hammering on the console above me, an awful scent filled the air, and a red servo slipped over my shoulder.

"Naw, naw, ya pretty youngling. *Hic*, what say you ditch tiny here, and join a group of real bots?" I nearly zapped the poor sap with my stinger, but held in the desire to. I took the servo holding my arm and threw it off. The group had wandered over, and started to catcall, whistle, and yell out things I'd rather not repeat. The red servo came down again, but this time there was a possesive air to the action. Bulkhead growled somewhere above my head, and I didn't blame him. I calmly bucked the hand off my shoulder, only to be grabbed and made to stand up. The mechs around me had an odd look in their optics, and I knew we had to get away. I twisted out from under them, and raced over to Bulkhead, who picked me up, transformed, and zoomed outta there fast as light. The mechs gave chase, and eventually wore us out.

Regular P.O.V:

"Get off!" Bumblebee screeched, and a blue hand carresssed him in a non-too-gentle way. He glared up at the mechs holding him down, and glanced over to Bulkhead. He too was pinned down, and a startled look was heavy in his gentle optics. The mechs catcalled again, their servos covering Bumblebee completely. He froze, as an unknown power began to race through him. The feeling of that power, coupled with the fear of the larger mechs above, began building within him.

No...

Servos pawing at him.

NO!...

A panel on his body slid open, quite loudly actually.

"NO~!" He screamed as he released a powerful wave of electricity, frying the circuits of every single mech nearby. He waited for several breems, before he crawled over to the green mech laying on his back. The behemoth groaned, sitting up slowly.

"Bee...what did you do?" He asked, taking in the bodies of the workers. Bumblebee shook violently, and Bulkhead said no more. He picked up the frightened scout, and fled from the area quickly.

"That's awful..." Optimus whispered. Bumblebee gazed down at the ground sadly. He held his right hand up.

"I learned how to control it eventually, but every time I think of that night...the bots I hurt, and I could've offlined Bulkhead too." The yellow mech shook hard, green mech patting him on the helm consolingly. Bee took it needingly, curling into the green armor. Prowl raised a hand, reached out and gently petted the left horn of Bumblebee's helm. The yellow mech clicked softly in response.

"Thanks. It's not that I needed comfort, but the fact you understand." The scout smiled at him, and Prowl's spark jumped high in his chestplate. Ratchet tapped Bumblebee on the shoulder, and handed him a cube of low-grade. Bee thanked him and quietly sipped the purple substance. Optimus looked at the three, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Prowl, all couped in on each other. He smiled as Ratchet sat down next to him.

"Just like sparklings, eh?" The white and red medic started. Optimus sighed.

"Now that the war's over, they have the chance other bots never did. To live normally, without worry. Isn't that a good thing?" The red and blue mech asked. Ratchet shook his head distractedly.

"I'm just glad we have even a click of peace now. I'll settle for this scene, right here, instead of the scenes I saw back then." Optimus cocked a brow at his friend.

"Wanna talk?" The medic "hmphed!"

"No." The red and blue sighed, a smile playing on his faceplate.

"My new team, huh? Maybe it could work..."

A FEW STELLAR CYCLES LATER

"SCOUT! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU BOUT THREADING THROUGH MY LAB~!" Came Ratchet's roar. Bumblebee sped into the room, and seeing Optimus, dove behind him just as the enraged medic stormed into the room.

Optimus, of course, pointed in the wrong direction.

As Ratchet slid the door close behind him, Bumblebee slipped out and winked up at Optimus.

"Thanks, Boss-bot."

Oh yeah.

It'll work.

As well as it could, he guessed.

FIN


End file.
